Wet track would help Rafting, Guest Suite in Ben Ali

With a purse of $200,000, far less than competing stakes in April such as the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap and the $1.2 million Charles Town Classic, Saturday’s Grade 3 Ben Ali was almost certain to come up with a field below Keeneland standards. Only two graded stakes winners, Guest Suite and R Rated Superstar, are in the seven-horse lineup.

Despite the small, modest cast, the 1 1/8-mile Bel Ali does bring competitiveness to the table. Its four leading contenders appear to have comparable chances, with perhaps another two of the remaining three horses having the potential to threaten if able to recapture their best form.

The top prospects include Guest Suite, a third-level allowance winner at Fair Grounds on March 11, and recent stakes runners-up Rafting, Hollywood Handsome, and Chip Leader. Reflecting how closely matched they appear, they all enter with last-race Beyer Speed Figures in the 94-97 range.

Leading the way on the Beyer scale is the 5-year-old Rafting, who posted a 97 in finishing a distant second behind War Story in the $75,000 Challenger at Tampa Bay Downs on March 10. That came after a pair of allowance victories earlier in the year at Tampa, which followed a layoff of almost 22 months.

One of his wins at Tampa came over a sloppy dirt surface, and he could get those conditions Saturday, with rain in forecast for the Lexington, Ky., area.

Guest Suite also is proven over an off track, having won the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds in January 2017. His latest victory, which followed five consecutive off-the-board finishes after the Lecomte, came on a “good” track there.

Brian Hernandez Jr. rides for trainer Neil Howard, a five-time Ben Ali winner.

Hollywood Handsome and Chip Leader bring contrasting styles and past performances into the Ben Ali. Hollywood Handsome is a closer with established dirt form, while Chip Leader is the controlling speed in an otherwise paceless contest but has been at his best on turf and synthetic. He has finished unplaced in three dirt starts.

Reflecting this speed edge, Chip Leader was made the 5-2 favorite on the morning line. Rafting and Hollywood Handsome are co-second choices at 3-1, while Guest Suite is 6-1.

Completing the field are 8-1 Giuseppe the Great, the richest entrant with earnings of $476,240; 6-1 Rated R Superstar, whose deep-closing style could be compromised by the race shape; and 10-1 Aurora Way, most recently fourth in a second-level allowance Feb. 11 at Gulfstream.